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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. The ________________ went through the wall.
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. band — a music group
  6. pitch — completely
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. bear — the animal
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. degree — temperature
  13. band — a ring
  14. degree — from a university
  15. degree — an amount
  16. bear — the animal
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. wind — moving air
  20. net — after costs
  21. net — for catching
  22. net — in sport
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. wind — moving air

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com